"Barcelona are a great team but it is not just about Messi," he told arsenal.com.

"He has great, great service from players like Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta so we have to be focused as a group. We have to get behind the back and be together. It is how we can block the space for him to run into.

"You do not get scared [of facing Messi]. If I was scared, I wouldn't be playing tomorrow. You have to be excited not scared. It is true Messi is good one versus one but, as cover, we can be hard to beat.

"We know they are a great team going forward and we will have to defend well and be focused for 90 minutes. But do not forget we have great players as well. It will be interesting."